Past Review
By Jennifer D (Spanish Secondary Education, University of Northern Colorado) for
ISA Study Abroad in Valencia, Spain
I learned a lot about myself and about where my priorities are. I learned that I am a major family person, and that I really really do love my fiance, and that I can't live without him. I also learned that I am a leader when I need to be, and can think well on my feet.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
| The term and year this program took place: | Spring 2010 |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The teaching method is very different... The professor lectures at you for the whole class period, which makes it incredibly hard to learn things... |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The ISA directors were very helpful and friendly. They always answered my questions, and asked to make sure I was doing ok. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I lived in an apartment with an older couple. I had a roommate, and we shared a bathroom. There were other students in the home while we were there. The 2-5 girls in the house shared one bathroom, our host family had another bathroom. <br /><br /> My housing was excellent. The family themselves was great, they really helped me practice my Spanish a lot. However, the apartment itself was located about 50 minutes from school and 40 minutes from the center of town. We didn't go out much because it was too far away. My host family treated me like a houseguest most of the time, sometimes as a family member. |
| * Food: |
There were too many vegetables, I would be full on carbs and veggies, but would be hungry an hour later. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The weekend trips that we took were fantastic, but I would have liked to have had more events organized by the program itself. Such as Meet at the ISA office Tuesday night and a group will go salsa dancing... |
| * Safety: |
Valencia is a pretty crime-free city as long as you are smart about it :) |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 100 Euros? This is so high because of trips that I took. The trips were a lot more expensive than living in Spain was. In Spain I spent maybe 25 Euros a week. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Shop around to find your souvineers--you've got the time, and a lot of times, you can find the same thing in a different store for cheaper! |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Fluent |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | SPAN 401 |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
I practiced Spanish with my host family, my professors, the ISA directors, and sometimes my roommate. However, everyone in our program was from the US, so they all spoke English. I remember reading that ISA would put us into a classroom with International students, so that was a big disappointment to me and restricted my opportunities to speak the language. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | You have to make an effort to speak Spanish to your peers. They might think you're weird and crazy, but do it anyways, it'll benefit you in the long run! |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
El Cervantes and El Quijote |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Sergio Arlandis |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | This was an excellent course, and I learned a lot from it, as well as enjoyed it. Definitely the best class while I was abroad. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Latin American Culture |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Ricard Torres |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | This course was interesting because of the class material. Our professor had never been to Latin America, but had just studied it. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Spanish Culture |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Vicente Roig |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | This course was excellent. We took a bunch of fun field trips! The best part was getting to find out about what we were seeing in our host families, city experiences, etc. and how it tied into the culture. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Panorama of Literature: Neoclassism to Contemporary |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Chelo Candel |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | This professor ruined this class. She was rude and very critical of our Spanish and our Spanish abilities. After she made fun of several people in our class, I stopped caring about her class. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
